


It's A Gem Thing

by astrivikia



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Dancing, Discussions of fusion, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post Wanted special
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 05:00:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11141514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrivikia/pseuds/astrivikia
Summary: "Hey, Sadie?" A beat of hesitation. "Dance with me?"





	It's A Gem Thing

"Hey, no Sadie it's okay!" His voice was high from anxiety, hands tightening around his trembling friend.

"Okay?!" He winced. "You died in space!" She said indignantly, drawing back to glare at him, tears gleaming in her eyes.

His face contorted, emotions he couldn't quite pin down rearing their head. Guilt was definitely in there though. Old deflection habits kicked into effect. "Well I'm here now aren't I?" He said, wry humor tinging his voice. Even to him it sounded fake.

Sadie shoved him in the shoulder and he released her from his grip, giving her some space. "You- you! You idiot," she finally settled on, swiping at her eyes. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?!" The anger in her voice fell away, and the tremble that replaced it was ten times worse.

"Sadie..." He said softly. But no other words came to him. Instead he reached out and took her hand. She gripped it back in a death grip, but he found he didn't mind. The pressure was actually comforting, and he found himself squeezing back.

They ended up settling on the sand of the beach, the sun sinking down the horizon. He expected more questions, knew they'd come eventually, but for now neither of them spoke. Sadie rested her head against his shoulder, looping her free arm around his waist and he let his settle around her shoulder. His fingers toyed with the ends of her hair. He wasn't sure which of them the action was meant to calm.

It was the most human he'd felt since his death and he found his mind drifting, memories of Earth and memories of space alike filling his mind. It gave him an idea, a sort of connection between both.

He wasn't sure how long had passed when he drew back a bit to meet her eyes. "Hey, Sadie?" A beat of hesitation. "Dance with me?" Sadie's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"What?"

A blush darkened his pink skin, familiar anxieties fluttering in his stomach. "Just...." He forced his voice to a softer tone as he tried to keep a handle on his feelings. "please?" he said awkwardly, holding out his hand.

"This is not something I ever thought you'd ask," she admitted, hoping it'd lighten the air between them. Her fingers intertwined with his and she didn't miss the way his grip tightened around her hand for a moment.

"It's.... Kind of a gem thing," he admitted sheepishly, as he pulled both of them to their feet, starting to gently sway them in a circle.

It was quieter than how he danced with the Off Colors. Padparascha liked it when he picked her up and twirled her in the air, like a little kid. Rhodonite liked very traditional ballroom type dancing, her extra hands helping Lars navigate the movements as he struggled with their fluidity. And the Rutile twins..... he wasn't sure how to explain it, but there was definitely a lot of energy to it. His expression relaxed into a fond smile.

It didn't escape Sadie's notice. "A gem thing huh?" She wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but didn't want to push him too hard about everything that had happened.

His gaze shifted above her head. "Ya, it's like a way they connect or whatever. We're not really- well it's called fusion... Steven could explain it better..."

Steven.... It had been such a strange feeling, a rush of light and emotions and they'd been better for it. But the memory of the clawing guilt, confusion and self loathing that had lived inside whatever they'd been, it made his heart ache. Some of it had been him, but he knew some of that weight came from Steven. Knew from how Steven had stood before giant gems that wanted to destroy him and confessed to things he would never do. Because that wasn't Steven.

He didn't realize he had been trembling until Sadie tugged on their interconnected hands gently, drawing his gaze down.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" She asked, eyes searching his face. He ducked his head, hair falling over his right eye, the one that was still bisected by the scar.

"Ya, it's kinda hard to explain..." He drew her closer lifting her slightly off the ground and spinning her in a circle.  She inhaled in surprise, tightening her grip until she felt her feet touch the ground again.

"I'm willing to listen if you want to try," she encouraged. There were several beats of silence where they just swayed in place, hands still clasped between them.

"I don't even know where to start," he admitted, chuckling softly. Sadie could tell it was more of an outlet for anxiety than humor. She looked out across the beach, taking in the glimmer of the stars on the water.

"Why don't you start with whatever this fusion thing is?"

He nodded, taking a moment to try and find the right words. This time she let the silence be, trusting he would speak when he was ready. "God, this is going to sound so weird," he groaned, making Sadie's lips quirk in amusement. "Okay so gems, like Steven and his moms, they can sort of.... merge?" He grimaced, releasing one of Sadie's hands so he could run his fingers through his pale hair.

"It's weird, I told you.... But when they connect they can dance and then they glow and they're- they're someone new? Like it's both of them, but they make a whole new person?" He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Please tell me I'm making some kind of sense." He peeked through his fingers at her, taking in her perplexed expression.

Everything in him wanted to brush it all off, but he stayed quiet, listening to his too slow heartbeat as he waited for Sadie to speak.

"Soooo.... they become a.... new person.... that is both of them?" She said slowly, carefully to see if she was getting it right. It was strange and alien sounding, but then they _were_  alien.

Lars nodded. "Ya, that's the basic idea," he confirmed, raking his fingers through his hair. He grinned anxiously at her, still unsure how she was taking everything.

"That's... actually kind of beautiful." A light smile touched her face, a beat of hesitation lingering between them before she reached out and brushed his hair out of his face. He tensed slightly as it revealed his scar, but when she merely cupped his cheek he relaxed into the touch. He let his eyes drop closed, feeling her thumb brush against the bottom of the scar.

Questions swirled in her; some she wasn't sure she wanted answers to. She knew from Steven's rambling explanation that Lars had died, but neither of them had talked about the specifics. When she'd wrapped her head around it enough to ask Steven more, he'd looked like he was going to cry and she'd quickly backpedaled.

She decided it was best to stay on the topic at hand for now. The rest could wait. "It sounds like it might be kind of nice." He shrugged, gaze shifting to the side.

"I guess it kind of is? I mean when we fu-" The words died in his throat. He hadn't meant to tell Sadie about Stars. He realized he'd stopped their gentle movements, gaze flicking down apprehensively at her. He could tell the wheels in her head were turning, and why couldn't he have just thought before speaking?

"Wait wait, back up. I thought you said we couldn't fuse?" He released her hands, posture slipping into a self conscious hunch. Not that it really did much to alter their height difference.

" _We_ can't," he emphasized. "And I can't with gems either. But, we can with Steven cause he's....." Lars cut off, gesturing vaguely, unsure a proper way to put it. But luckily Sadie seemed to understand, and finished the sentence for him.

"Because he's half human." She mulled that over. "So you and Steven.... fused? Wow, what's that even like?" He exhaled a breathy chuckle.

"Weird?" His lips quirked into a smile. "But not bad weird y'know? We were there, but it wasn't us." A lighter laugh bubbled up inside him as he leaned closer into Sadie's space, saying in a conspiratorial manner. "Steven called us Stars."

Sadie's soft giggles joined his own laughter. "That's adorable."


End file.
